Tenderising beef chuck steak

Answer 1

Several ways are available of tenderising meats, generally after culling the carcas should be left for 2 - 3 weeks to mature and let the natural fibres of the meat deteriorate slowly so they are not so closely bound.

Once you have your steak there are several methods dependant upon whether you want to introduce new flavours to the meat or just want the natural taste or the steak.

Long slow cooking is the key so the gentle heat breaks down the fibres, tenderising salts and commercially available tenderising mixes generall contain papaine which is derived from the papaya fruit, this acts as a natural tenderiser breaking down the enzymes in the meat, it is available nationally or you could even just marinate the meat with papaya slices.

Another alternative is to give the meat a good bashing, several meat mallets are available, we found several at Kitchenaria www.kitchenaria.com they work by physically breaking down the meats fibre and muscle ensuring a tender steak without additional flavourings being incorporated into the final dish.

Answer 2

Your question seems to assume you are talking about chemical or mechanical methods of "tenderizing". Piggly Wiggly, a southern chain of grocery stores sold a beef that the had been injected with a form of citric acid prior to slaughter. The citric acid broke down the tough cellular walls as the meet passed thru a range of temperature during cooking. There are several mechanical ways to do the same thing. Chicken fried or country fried stake is one example. Ageing beef also does the same thing. Dry aged beef is about as good as you can get.